River Island has revealed a 69.4% surge in full-year pre-tax profits as the fashion retailer unveils its first stores in South America.

  • Pre-tax profits rise 69.4% to £149.1m
  • New stores opened in Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru
  • Retailer attributes growth to omnichannel investment

The privately-owned fashion retailer’s profits hit £149.1m on the back of turnover increasing 10.4% to £925.8m for the year ending December 27.

River Island chief executive Ben Lewis told Retail Week the strong performance was a result of significant investment coming to fruition.

He said: “We have invested heavily and that is paying off. We have seen strong growth in omnichannel services and opened new stores and upgraded the retail experience for customers.

“We invest very much for the long term and there is lots of opportunity to continue to grow the business online, in-store and internationally.”

As part of its international growth strategy, River Island debuted in South America two weeks ago with a store each in Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru.

Lewis revealed the South American stores have got “off to a very good start”. “It’s indicative of the demand there is for our fashion and for our brand around the world,” he said.

River Island opened in Estonia, Malta, the Philippines and South Africa during its last financial year and is also further expanding in the UK, Sweden, Holland and the Middle East.

However, at the end of last year River Island decided to close its Russian stores due to the “economic situation” but is still selling into Russia through its website and local partner Lamoda.

Multichannel performance

The retailer’s multichannel proposition is increasingly gaining traction with consumers and mobile traffic and click-and-collect sales have surged, up 48% and 32% respectively.

River Island also found there has been a 19% increase in customers who use all of its three channels – the app, online and store.

Lewis said: “The River Island brand suits mobile and they love that browsing and shopping on mobile experience so we are investing in that area.”

River Island’s focus on the retail experience has included the launch of a ‘style studio’ one-to-one bespoke styling service at its Birmingham Bullring and Oxford Street stores.